Home and Away

On Saturday Tuffley Rovers will host their opposition for the second time in three weeks, but it is only their eighth home league fixture of the season, with twelve away games already completed. That imbalance is nothing compared to visitors Mangotsfield United, who will arrive at Glevum Park having played all their fifteen league games away from home.

The Mangos have been on the road since the opening day of the season due to their home pitch being converted to a 3G surface and although that nears completion, they aren’t quite ready to end their time on the road just yet! They have three more away games to play after their visit to Glevum Park, two of them in November and before they are due to play their first home game on 23 November.

Rovers have a poor record against Mangotsfield, although the hosts go into the game off the back of three consecutive wins in all competitions, whilst the visitors have recorded three draws in a row.

Manager Neil Mustoe will see his team look to record a first Hellenic League win against their visitors, a task made all the tougher by an ever-growing injury list. Warren Mann and Josh Stevens are long-term absentees, but they have been joined on the treatment table by a plethora of players in recent weeks, including Sammie Hicks and Macaulay Herbert. Corey Warrington is suspended for the game, after picking up a fifth caution of the season in last weekend’s win at Brimscombe & Thrupp, whilst Mark Pritchett is not available for selection.

Mustoe also faces an anxious wait on the availability of Callum McGuirk, who limped off in midweek, so it could be a depleted Tuffley team that take to the field this weekend. Youngsters Ollie Hambling and Gino Valenti have been added to the squad (with both in line for a debut appearance).